Being Intentional

Yes, I realize that it has been awhile since I posted here. So sue me...LOL.

I spent yesterday at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Leadership Summit where the theme was "Taking Back Time." Who doesn't want to get back more of their time?? It couldn't have been more perfect for me to hear as I've really been struggling with time management here recently - what was a I doing with my time and why did it seem like nothing was done when the day was over and I was out of time?

The answer to my problem? Being Intentional.

It sounds so simple - surely we all are intentional about what we do, right? Not so much. I actually put very little intent into what I do. I was just scraping by and getting the bare minimal done each day - feed the baby - go to work - maybe sleep a little. It just isn't working for me. I've tried creating schedules and plans, but with no intent to actually follow through.

So, they encouraged us to look at our priorities. Here are what I feel my priorities are:
1.God
2.Family (both my own little family and my immediate family -mom, sisters, etc.)
3.Self (including rest, fitness and creativity)
4.Organization of my house.

Then they asked us to look at our normal activities and ask if our activities/schedule matched up with any of these priorities. The truth was for many of us, no they didn't match at all. I realized, for myself, I wasn't really doing much of anything - just going through the motions of each day.

It reminds me of the song by Switchfoot, "This is Your Life"

yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
yesterday is a promise that you've broken
don't close your eyes,
don't close your eyes

this is your life and today is all you've got now
yeah, and today is all you'll ever have
don't close your eyes
don't close your eyes

this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, are you who you want to be
this is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
when the world was younger and you had everything to lose

God has blessed us so much with a gift of TODAY. Yes, we've probably screwed up yesterday, but today is a new day with a new slate, thanks to His forgiveness. Are we being intentional with it? Are we using our time to truly become who we want to be?

My answer is a big, fat NO!!! A slave to the TV is not what I want to be. I want to be a loving Christian mother and wife. I want to feel that my body is a temple by giving it the proper rest, physical training and time to enjoy life. I want my daughter to be raised in a home that makes her feel safe and loved.

So today, I am making a goal to be intentional in everything I do. A goal isn't really a goal unless it is measurable, so for my start, I am going to prioritize my tasks and time and then create a plan to put into action.

What are you doing with your time? Are you being intentional with the time that God has blessed you with?